1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a stove for cooking food with a viewing window, and a viewing window for household appliances, such as cooking stoves or ovens, which window can be mounted in a wall of the housing of the stove for cooking food or the household appliance such as a cooking stove or oven, and which window is comprised of at least two transparent panes arranged at a distance from one another, whereby between the two transparent panes there is contemplated a screen, or blind, which covers, or closes, the viewing area, and which screen is adjustable from the exterior of the appliance.
2. Background Information
There are several types of household appliances to which the invention has applicability, in particular such appliances as baking appliances and cooking appliances, refrigerators, freezer chests or freezers, microwave appliances, and space heaters. With such household appliances, the interior thereof is viewable by way of the viewing window. There arises, however, the desire at times that viewing of the interior of the household appliance should be temporarily precluded or, respectively, that viewing be permitted only when required under certain circumstances. Up till now, in practical application for the solution of this problem, there was made the attempt to make improvisation with an outer cover that is applied in individual manner, but such a solution can only be considered a temporary solution since this cover is difficult to instal and since it negatively impacts the outer appearance of the household appliance at hand.
The Federal Republic of Germany Utility Model No. DE 91 08 355 U1 makes known a viewing window for household appliances, which window can be mounted in the wall of the housing of the household appliance, and which window is comprised of at least two transparent panes disposed at a distance from one another to form a space between the panes, in which space a cover is contemplated which covers, or closes, the viewing area, and which cover can be adjusted from the exterior of the appliance.
In the known embodiment, the cover that can be adjusted from the exterior comprises a plurality of lamellas, or elements, which extend vertically, and which are disposed, or journalled, by way of pivot pins disposed in receiving holes, so as to be swingable about a vertical axis. As can be clearly seen in the drawing figures of the mentioned reference, the known embodiment construction is relatively cumbersome. Furthermore, even if the lamellas are in the fully open position, that is, when they are disposed perpendicularly to the viewing pane, a fully unobstructed viewing into the interior of the household appliance is only provided in a viewing direction which is fully perpendicular to the door. When viewing under an angle, the lamellae surfaces reduce the viewing field, or area.
It is the object of the invention, commencing with the viewing window characterized in the introduction, to configure this to be of a simple design and to provide a fully accessible viewing area upon opening of the blind or cover.
The invention teaches that this object can be accomplished with a stove for cooking food, said stove comprising a stove body being configured with a support comprising feet. The stove body being configured with an interior confined by walls comprising side walls, a front wall, and a rear wall. The stove has an oven, a heating arrangement configured and disposed to provide heating to cook food in said oven and control apparatus to control the heating arrangement. There is also provided a door in the front wall, which door comprises a window arrangement configured with a viewing area to view food being cooked in the interior of the oven. The window arrangement comprises a first pane and a second pane disposed at a distance from the first pane. The first pane becomes the inner pane upon installation in the stove and the second pane becomes an outer pane upon installation in the stove. An arrangement is provided to maintain the first and second panes in spaced relationship. A roller blind arrangement is disposed between the first and second panes, which roller blind arrangement comprises a portion to obscure viewing into the interior of the stove, and a portion to permit viewing into the oven. There is also provided an arrangement to move the portion to permit viewing into the stove, and to move the portion to obscure viewing into the interior of the oven, with the roller blind arrangement being configured to obscure the viewing area of the window to minimize heat radiation from the heating arrangement reaching the ambient surrounding of the stove and to minimize radiation and to provide a uniform heat reflection impinging upon the closed roller blind arrangement to thus supply a substantial constant internal configuration for reflecting heat back into the stove interior.
The invention further teaches that this object can be accomplished, for a viewing window for household appliances, which viewing window can be mounted, or placed, in a wall of the housing of the household appliance, and which window comprises at least two transparent panes arranged at a distance from one another, whereby between the two transparent panes there is contemplated a screen, or cover, or blind, which covers, or closes, the viewing area, and which screen is adjustable from the exterior of the appliance, in accordance with the invention thereby that the cover is configured as roller blind, or curtain, which has two rollers, of which one is arranged adjacent to the viewing window at the top and the other is arranged adjacent to the viewing window at the bottom, and one of the rollers comprises a torsion spring, as is typical for a self-winding curtain, and the other roller can be driven; and that one end of the roller blind is secured to the roller comprising the torsion spring, and the other end of the roller blind is connected, by way of pulling elements, to the roller that can be driven.
Such a configuration of the cover, or screen, of the viewing window is relatively simple, such that it can be produced with low cost-benefit ratio and is easily assembled and installed.
Furthermore, the viewing area of the viewing window can be fully exposed when the roller blind is in the open position, such that when viewing into the appliance at an angle there is essentially no diminishing of the viewing area.
The abstract of Japanese Patent Publication 09170761 shows a roller blind which can be actuated in front of the glass viewing window in the door of a recirculating stove. In this known case, however, as in the already described state of the art, the cover, that is, the roller blind, is arranged exteriorly at the stove. This is shown therein that in the drawing figure of this reference the window is shown with dash lines, that is, it is covered, in the closed condition thereof, by a roller blind that is arranged exteriorly. Such an exterior cover, however, detrimentally affects the outer appearance or appeal of the household appliance. In contrast to this reference, the roller blind according to the invention is arranged within the viewing window.
By way of an applicable material selection for the cover, there can also be achieved, to a considerable extent, a control of radiation emission from the interior of the household appliance, for example, heat radiation or, respectively, microwave radiation. It is therefore possible, according to at least one embodiment of the present invention, to reduce the loss of heat through a viewing door in a conventional stove or oven. It is further possible to therefore increase the amount of heat retained in the interior of the stove. In addition, the loss of heat through the viewing door of conventional stoves or ovens often produces uneven cooking temperatures in different regions of the interior of the stove, thus producing unevenly cooked food. By reducing the amount of heat lost through the viewing door, it is possible to reduce or restrict the formation of regions having uneven cooking temperatures in the interior of the stove.
The roller that can be driven of the cover, or blind, can be rotated from the exterior by way of a mechanical connection in manual manner, however, it is of greater comfort when, in accordance with one embodiment of the viewing window, or assembly, or arrangement, there is provided an electric-power drive-system for rotating the roller that is powered by a drive motor.
The above-mentioned embodiment can be simplified as to the configuration when, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, the pulling elements are provided by pulling ropes.
With respect to the configuration of the cover, or blind, there are numerous options. A particular advantage is provided when, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention, the roller blind, or curtain, is made of a plastic-synthetic foil that is tear resistant.
Such a foil can be made in simple manner from customary material.
Further embodiments of the invention are contained in dependent claims and in the following description of the invention with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawing figure.
The above-discussed embodiments of the present invention will be described further hereinbelow. When the word xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d is used in this specification, the word xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d includes xe2x80x9cinventionsxe2x80x9d, that is the plural of xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d. By stating xe2x80x9cinventionxe2x80x9d, the Applicants do not in any way admit that the present application does not include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention, and maintain that this application may include more than one patentably and non-obviously distinct invention. The Applicants hereby assert that the disclosure of this application may include more than one invention, and, in the event that there is more than one invention, that these inventions may be patentable and non-obvious one with respect to the other.